Utilization of photogrammetry during establishment of virtual rock collection at Aalto University

In recent years, we can observe increasing popularity of the term industry 4.0 which is defined as a new level of organization and control over the entire value chain of the life cycle of products. Experts distinguished nine different technologies, which are essential for the development of industry 4.0. One of them is virtual reality, which is used during processes of data visualisation and digitization. These processes can also include geological collections. Due to limited access to different geological spots, the popularity of destructive techniques during rock testing and high complexity of the process of learning geosciences, geologists are looking for new methods of digitization of different samples of rocks and minerals. The aim of this master thesis was to create a virtual collection of selected rocks and minerals using photogrammetry and virtual reality (VR) technology and develop new tool and interactive learning platform for study mineralogy and petrography. To accomplish these aims and create 3D models of specimens, the author built professional photo studio and used photogrammetric techniques to digitize the samples. The main output of this research is a virtual 3D collection of rocks and minerals that consisting of 107 samples, and which is available via two different channels: Sketchfab portal online model repository and VR environment built in Unity game engine. The virtual collection will be utilised to teach students how to identify rocks and minerals at Aalto University

Integration of as-built building information modeling and augmented reality in construction industry : a case study of the (UTM) ECO-HOME

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is becoming increasingly popular in architectural documentation processes in which various stakeholders share data through consistent digital models, keeping workflow up to date to maximize reliability and quality throughout the construction cycle. Most of the constructed buildings might not be built as-designed exactly and 2D drawings are not functional to aid facility managers, viral reliance is on the traditional method to develop as-built drawings leads to greater need of developing accurate and functional 3D as-built BIM through smart workflow. 3D laser scanners are rarely used in construction industry and rarely integrated and practiced with BIM. Moreover, due to less efforts exploring the integration of the digital virtual BIM on site activities, it is predicted that Augmented Reality (AR) can fulfill this vision effectively through visualizing BIM right into the reality. However, some research studies developed workflows using 3D laser scanner to come up with 3D model, as well as workflows to adopt the 3D model into AR platforms separately. Therefore, the aim of this research is to integrate “Scan-BIM” workflow with “BIM-AR” workflow developing newly single integrated workflow. This qualitative case study investigates the current practice of as-built data development based on interviews and practice a modem method of 3D as-built BIM development through an experiment. In this study the integration between SCENE, Revit and Unity3D softwares supported with some extension softwares unveiled the possibility of integrating laser scanning, as-built BIM and AR. This research resulted in an efficient solution in developing “Scan-As-Built BIM-AR” integrated workflow that Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) industries’ practitioners can use to consolidate, optimize and visualize their models in a real-time AR environment

A review of cloud-based bim technology in the construction sector

Cloud computing technology is regarded as a major transformational force that is causing unprecedented change across the communication and business disciplines. In the architecture, engineering and construction sector, cloud-BIM integration is considered to be the second generation of building information management (BIM) development, and is expected to produce another wave of change across the construction industry. Despite this, few studies to date have attempted to summarise the research literature on cloud-BIM. This paper explores the literature to identify the substantive work on cloud-BIM, particularly regarding building life cycle management, to provide valuable insight for practitioners and to propose avenues for further research. Thirty academic sources, including refereed journal articles and conference papers, were retrieved and analysed in terms of their research focus and nature of application. The review revealed that most cloud-BIM research has focused on the building planning/design and construction stages. The findings suggest that more research should be directed towards operation, maintenance and facility management, energy efficiency and the demolition and deconstruction stages of building life cycle management. Further empirical research on organisational and legal issues, including security, responsibility, liability and model ownership, of the cloud-BIM model is also needed

Visualised inspection system for monitoring environmental anomalies during daily operation and maintenance

PurposeVisual inspection and human judgement form the cornerstone of daily operations and maintenance (O&M) services activities carried out by facility managers nowadays. Recent advances in technologies such as building information modelling (BIM), distributed sensor networks, augmented reality (AR) technologies and digital twins present an immense opportunity to radically improve the way daily O&M is conducted. This paper aims to describe the development of an AR-supported automated environmental anomaly detection and fault isolation method to assist facility managers in addressing problems that affect building occupants’ thermal comfort.Design/methodology/approachThe developed system focusses on the detection of environmental anomalies related to the thermal comfort of occupants within a building. The performance of three anomaly detection algorithms in terms of their ability to detect indoor temperature anomalies is compared. Based on the fault tree analysis (FTA), a decision-making tree is developed to assist facility management (FM) professionals in identifying corresponding failed assets according to the detected anomalous symptoms. The AR system facilitates easy maintenance by highlighting the failed assets hidden behind walls/ceilings on site to the maintenance personnel. The system can thus provide enhanced support to facility managers in their daily O&M activities such as inspection, recording, communication and verification.FindingsTaking the indoor temperature inspection as an example, the case study demonstrates that the O&M management process can be improved using the proposed AR-enhanced inspection system. Comparative analysis of different anomaly detection algorithms reveals that the binary segmentation-based change point detection is effective and efficient in identifying temperature anomalies. The decision-making tree supported by FTA helps formalise the linkage between temperature issues and the corresponding failed assets. Finally, the AR-based model enhanced the maintenance process by visualising and highlighting the hidden failed assets to the maintenance personnel on site.Originality/valueThe originality lies in bringing together the advances in augmented reality, digital twins and data-driven decision-making to support the daily O&M management activities. In particular, the paper presents a novel binary segmentation-based change point detection for identifying temperature anomalous symptoms, a decision-making tree for matching the symptoms to the failed assets, and an AR system for visualising those assets with related information.EPSRC, Innovate U

Indoor Mapping and Reconstruction with Mobile Augmented Reality Sensor Systems

Augmented Reality (AR) ermöglicht es, virtuelle, dreidimensionale Inhalte direkt innerhalb der realen Umgebung darzustellen. Anstatt jedoch beliebige virtuelle Objekte an einem willkürlichen Ort anzuzeigen, kann AR Technologie auch genutzt werden, um Geodaten in situ an jenem Ort darzustellen, auf den sich die Daten beziehen. Damit eröffnet AR die Möglichkeit, die reale Welt durch virtuelle, ortbezogene Informationen anzureichern. Im Rahmen der vorliegenen Arbeit wird diese Spielart von AR als "Fused Reality" definiert und eingehend diskutiert. Der praktische Mehrwert, den dieses Konzept der Fused Reality bietet, lässt sich gut am Beispiel seiner Anwendung im Zusammenhang mit digitalen Gebäudemodellen demonstrieren, wo sich gebäudespezifische Informationen - beispielsweise der Verlauf von Leitungen und Kabeln innerhalb der Wände - lagegerecht am realen Objekt darstellen lassen. Um das skizzierte Konzept einer Indoor Fused Reality Anwendung realisieren zu können, müssen einige grundlegende Bedingungen erfüllt sein. So kann ein bestimmtes Gebäude nur dann mit ortsbezogenen Informationen augmentiert werden, wenn von diesem Gebäude ein digitales Modell verfügbar ist. Zwar werden größere Bauprojekt heutzutage oft unter Zuhilfename von Building Information Modelling (BIM) geplant und durchgeführt, sodass ein digitales Modell direkt zusammen mit dem realen Gebäude ensteht, jedoch sind im Falle älterer Bestandsgebäude digitale Modelle meist nicht verfügbar. Ein digitales Modell eines bestehenden Gebäudes manuell zu erstellen, ist zwar möglich, jedoch mit großem Aufwand verbunden. Ist ein passendes Gebäudemodell vorhanden, muss ein AR Gerät außerdem in der Lage sein, die eigene Position und Orientierung im Gebäude relativ zu diesem Modell bestimmen zu können, um Augmentierungen lagegerecht anzeigen zu können. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden diverse Aspekte der angesprochenen Problematik untersucht und diskutiert. Dabei werden zunächst verschiedene Möglichkeiten diskutiert, Indoor-Gebäudegeometrie mittels Sensorsystemen zu erfassen. Anschließend wird eine Untersuchung präsentiert, inwiefern moderne AR Geräte, die in der Regel ebenfalls über eine Vielzahl an Sensoren verfügen, ebenfalls geeignet sind, als Indoor-Mapping-Systeme eingesetzt zu werden. Die resultierenden Indoor Mapping Datensätze können daraufhin genutzt werden, um automatisiert Gebäudemodelle zu rekonstruieren. Zu diesem Zweck wird ein automatisiertes, voxel-basiertes Indoor-Rekonstruktionsverfahren vorgestellt. Dieses wird außerdem auf der Grundlage vierer zu diesem Zweck erfasster Datensätze mit zugehörigen Referenzdaten quantitativ evaluiert. Desweiteren werden verschiedene Möglichkeiten diskutiert, mobile AR Geräte innerhalb eines Gebäudes und des zugehörigen Gebäudemodells zu lokalisieren. In diesem Kontext wird außerdem auch die Evaluierung einer Marker-basierten Indoor-Lokalisierungsmethode präsentiert. Abschließend wird zudem ein neuer Ansatz, Indoor-Mapping Datensätze an den Achsen des Koordinatensystems auszurichten, vorgestellt

Conceptual framework for integrating BIM and augmented reality in construction management

The need for systematic data collection and processing to generate real-time building site progress information is critical. Building Information Modelling (BIM) provides the benefit of aggregating information about the building site on a single platform. Augmented reality (AR) emerges to enhance BIM concerning visualization of the building site, through processing and automatic absorption of information. This work aims to analyse the potential of AR association to BIM, by adopting an approach based on literature review. Trends in contemporary research are checked by categorizing applied research methods, areas of expertise, and AR technologies. Publications produced between 2008 and 2018 from journals of architecture, engineering, and construction areas in databases Web of Science, SciSearch, SCOPUS, INSPEC, Google Scholar, Academic OneFile, EBSCO, OCLC, VINITI, SCImago, and ProQuest were investigated. As main results, it was found that the case study approach was adopted in 41% of the publications analysed. The building site inspection was the research object in 48% of papers. Fiducial markers, GIS/GPS, laser scanners, and photogrammetry emerged as main options for automatic data capture on the progress of the building site. Integration between AR and BIM has the potential to solve information processing problems and improving construction management

Alberta’s Digital Oilfield: Technological Opportunities and Benefits for Alberta Companies and Communities

The global oil and gas sector has recently undergone a significant shift in supply economics, which has rippled throughout the supply chain. This has been felt as strongly in Alberta, Canada as it has in any other oil producing region. The intense need for operational changes to production, coupled with the proliferation of digital technologies into industrial processes (Industry 4.0), has led to new opportunities to dramatically reduce costs and inefficiencies through the supply chain. These opportunities can be summarized as Digital Oilfield Technologies, which are a combination of tools and disciplines that are incorporated into advanced software to improve operations efficiencies. This paper explores the different types of Digital Oilfield Technologies, its benefits to industry, and uncovers how communities in oil and gas producing regions can support the growth of this new subsector to improve the health of local industry and economy. Keywords: oilfield technology, oil and gas, oilfield optimization, digital analytics, digitalization, industry 4.